by Cas Martin
'So unless they can prove it was you, then circumstantial evidence is not enough to directly attack you and the family in return?'
'If they were to be proven wrong after an act of aggression, then it would stop being revenge and instead them declaring war on my family. Which puts them in a much, much weaker position if the other families decided that they wanted to weigh in on the fight.'
'It all seems very political. It's different living it when I've only read about it before. But what you're saying makes sense.'
'Trying to take on a couple of vampires without ever turning your face to the camera makes things more awkward. I probably took a few hits I didn't need to. It hurts now, but I think it'll be worth it in the long run.'
'I hope so. I would hate for this to all become a spiral of disaster because of me. I guess I owe you one.'
'I guess you do. And I may have to call in my favours sooner than you think. Not just with you but everyone else.'
'I take it we've stopped being positive again now?'
'Sometimes realism kicks in. I'm debating whether or not to even tell Dennis the truth about what happened tonight. If he doesn't know, then he will never have to lie for me.'
They were both silent for a moment, each wondering how their lives had come to be in this place, and just how the hell they were ever going to get out of it.
'God, I'm being a terrible hostess,' said Monica suddenly. 'I'm just sitting here with you getting drunk. I don't have anyone back here very often. Do you want something to eat or anything?'
'No thanks, I'm fine, really. After tonight I can't imagine ever feeling hungry again. Though I am surprised you don't have people over much. It's a beautiful apartment.'
'I know. I love it, I really do. There's a really selfish part of me that doesn't want to share it with anyone else. I like having my space and my freedom. This place has become my sanctuary. I don't entertain anyone from work here, so I keep my business life away from the place. I don't meet anyone from the family here, so I keep my alternative life away from here. This is the only place now where I can just be me and remember who I am. The person who I was before I had so many responsibilities.'
'I'm sorry if I intruded.'
'Not at all. I wanted you to come here. If I'd left you at your hotel, I wouldn't be able to relax, just in case they came and found you.' It was more than that really. For once, Monica was glad to have someone to talk to. Someone who, despite their difference, she didn't think would judge.
'I suppose I don't fall under the business or the family categories anyway, so you haven't even broken any of your own rules.'
'Bonus.'
'What about other people though? The ones that fall into the personal category?'
'I suppose that depends what you mean by the personal category. That covers a pretty wide expanse of possibilities. Friends? Lovers? Dinner? Is that what you're thinking?' She offered a mischievous smile and Elizabeth rolled her eyes in response.
'I suppose I was thinking friends and lovers, but I guess the third category is also an option for you.'
'I don't really have chance to spend much time with my friends any more. Lovers and Dinner often go hand in hand, but not here.'
'So can I ask you a personal question?' ventured Elizabeth. 'Seeing as we've both had a good few measures of rather fine alcohol that we can blame it on.'
'Of course, though I reserve the right not to answer.'
'How long has it been since you fed? Is that too personal a question? Have I broken some kind of code and offended you by asking? My father didn't actually leave me that much by way of vampire etiquette.'
'Not unless it's a rule that no one's ever told me either. Which, as you've probably gathered, is perfectly possible. No, I'm not offended. I fed last night. So you'll be safe alone in here with me tonight, if that's what you're worried about.' A disappointment that Monica couldn't quite name started to rise within her.
'No, it was more just regular curiosity. I've never really had the chance to sit down and talk about it. In a normal conversation like this. So I just wondered. I would rather be here than in my hotel room. I wouldn't feel safe, and I'm certainly not in any position to defend myself.'
'Speaking of our injuries, we should probably get some rest. My body needs time to heal itself before work tomorrow, and your ribs will probably feel better for a good night's sleep as well. I'll show you to the spare room. Do you need to be up at any time particular time?' She knew she was withdrawing, but couldn't help it. A suspicious look crossed Elizabeth's face, but she seemed to accept the situation with good grace.
'Any time is fine by me, but if you need to kick me out then just wake me up and I'll be on my way.'
'And don't worry,' teased Monica, trying to inject some lightness back into the situation, 'it's an actual bed in there, not a spare coffin or anything like that.'
'Ha ha, very funny. I have to say, I was a bit sad to find out that one wasn't true. If you ask me, you all missed out on the opportunity to add a bit of dramatic flair with that one…'
30
Elizabeth woke gently from sleep with the sun sneaking its way through the cracks in the blinds, and the feeling of very soft, expensive cotton sheets around her. It was a nice feeling, and much better than she remembered her hotel being. She rolled over and the shooting pain that exploded from inside her torso brought back memories of the previous evening. She suppressed a groan and reached out, gingerly, to look at her watch from where she had placed it on the bedside cabinet. Damn. It was half past eleven. Nearly noon and she had only just woken up. She hoped that didn't mean she had completely outstayed her welcome.
She eased herself out of bed and made her way to the chair where she had laid her clothes last night, surprised to find they had been neatly folded. Next to them had been placed a pair of clean jeans and a casual button up blouse. She felt mildly embarrassed that Monica had felt the need to leave her some clothes, but when she looked more closely at her own, she saw that they were in no fit state to be worn. She wanted to have a shower, but realised that would mean having to get help binding her ribs again. She was just a little bit too proud for that.
Instead, she went through to the en-suite and quickly washed before slipping on the clothes.
Feeling marginally more presentable, she walked out into the living room, feeling like a teenager staying over at a popular — and wealthy — friend's house for the first time and coming downstairs to meet the parents.
'Wow,' she breathed, looking through the floor to ceiling windows at the beautiful cityscape laid out before her. It was breath-taking, and whilst it had been pretty last night, lights twinkling in the darkness, it was amazing bathed in bright sunshine.
'I know,' came Monica's voice from the desk at the far end of the room, and Elizabeth jerked around in surprise, wincing again. 'It doesn't matter how many times I see it, I never get bored of it. Coffee?'
'Yes please. You should've woken me. I didn't mean to be this much of an inconvenience.'
'Not at all. One of the advantages of my position is being able to work from home and set my own hours. The bruises on my face don't go well with my best suit.'
'I guess it doesn't quite fit.'
'Cream? Sugar?'
'Just cream thanks.' Elizabeth waited while Monica walked into the kitchen with her own cup and came back with two. She gestured to a pair of chairs flanking a coffee table, with the best view out of the window. They sat down for a moment and admired what lay in front of them.
'No offense or anything,' began Elizabeth, wondering how she was going to walk the line between tact and curiosity, 'but shouldn't you be on fire or something? This is catching more rays than a tanning salon.'
'You'd think so wouldn't you? I came to view the apartment at night and I knew view alone would be enough for me. But before I moved in, I had a coating put on the glass that actually blocks the dangerous part of the sun's rays. Get up and see for yourself. You can't tell until you're up really clo
se, but there's a film on there.'
Elizabeth put her cup down and stood up to see, being very careful not to look down. It was there, just on the surface, like a drop of oil in a puddle of water. 'That's amazing.'
'I know. It's incredible how far technology has brought us over the past twenty years. There was a time when we had to live in the shadows and the darkness, and it wasn't all that long ago. We still have to for the most part, but things have changed a lot.'
'I thought that when you came and met me for lunch the other day.' Elizabeth felt guilty now for setting Monica such a task.
'I could see you questioning how I had made it there. I thought when you specified the time you were issuing something of a challenge to me.'
'I was. Of course, I didn't know you then, but at the time it seemed like the right thing to do.' Elizabeth couldn't change the past, even if had been a jerk move in hindsight.
'It definitely was the right thing to do. Luckily for me, I was able to meet your request. I have the highest factor sun screen that has ever been made. I'm also a bit more naturally immune to it than some of my peers.'
'Immune? Is it some kind of disease?'
'Okay, so maybe immune was the wrong word. Probably the better way of putting it is that I'm genetically pre-disposed to being more tolerant of the sun. My mother was as well. I think she was a little bit ashamed of the fact, rather than embracing its potential.'
'Ashamed? Why would she be?' Elizabeth sat back down, ready to listen. Monica was endlessly fascinating. She felt like she had learned more in the hours since she met her than she had done in the previous years combined.
'Different generation I guess,' Monica shrugged. 'I think she was just ashamed to be different. Like it made her less of a vampire somehow. I don't know if she was ever made to feel that way by the others, she never really talked about it. I presume she was just glad I felt that I could use it to my advantage without feeling any kind of stigma.'
'I think you should be able to enjoy it. Why on earth should you be ashamed of being able to have a foot in both worlds? Sometimes a unique perspective is a wonderful thing. Take it from me. Of course, sometimes it's a real pain in the ass as well, but you can't have everything, can you?'
'I think she was probably more ashamed over where the genetic mutation may have come from than anything else.' Monica stared out the window and Elizabeth glimpsed again the isolation that had barely been hidden the night before.
'I sense a story?'
'It's not something she ever talked about until she was dying. Even then she didn't want to say too much. It was almost as though when she finally had the chance to unburden herself she couldn't find the words.'
'Go on, try me. As you may have guessed by now, I'm a little bit more free-thinking than my fellow humans,' Elizabeth reached for her coffee, enjoying every sip. Monica obviously liked the finer things in life. She was happy to benefit from them, even if it was only for twenty-four hours.
'Okay, I'll give it a go, but I'm not sure you'll really get it, even if I tell you. I mean, I know you'll be able to understand, but that's not quite the same as getting it.'
'Stop procrastinating.'
'Okay, okay.' Monica took a deep breath and Elizabeth remained silent. She sensed this was a difficult thing to talk about. 'Well, you know how the families are. There are a number of bloodlines within a family. We tend to keep to those bloodlines. We all branched off somewhere back in history and keeping to the other vampires in your own family is a way of making sure that we continue to survive. We're programmed not to reproduce effectively with other families. Or with that other species that is genetically close to us, you humans.'
'I didn't study science, but I'm keeping up so far.'
'Biology has a way of making sure that accidents don't happen. But occasionally, something slips through the net.'
'Okaaaay…'
'Somewhere, only a couple of generations in my past, my great-grandmother fell for her 'go-to' guy.'
'Huh? Go-to guy?'
'See, I told you it was going to be hard to explain. Someone completely at your beck and call as a blood source. They are infatuated with you. They have no concept of their own wants and desires, and whenever you need blood you go to them.'
'Oh,' said Elizabeth, unable to stop herself feeling a little judgemental.
'And before you ask, no I don't have one. I think it's a bit…wrong. I know that makes me a lousy vampire, but I prefer to tell myself I'm just a bit more of a liberal.'
'That's good,' Elizabeth breathed a sigh of relief. It surprised her how much she wanted Monica to be different from the others. More like her.
'I can see that you feel about as comfortable with the idea as I do. And the weird thing is, I should find it totally normal, because it's what we've been doing for centuries. Sacrificing the one for the good of the many, on both sides. You tend to build up a relationship with them, so you're really unlikely to get hurt, and you're obligated to look after them in return for the blood that they give you. But I just don't seem to bring myself to be able to do it. Anyway, my great grandmother, she fell for her go-to guy. So much so that they were having an exclusive relationship and I don't just mean in the blood drinking sense. So when she fell pregnant, she knew it was his. That's my family's dirty little secret. I've never told anyone that before.'
'Oh wow,' said Elizabeth, the enormity of what Monica was sharing with her starting to hit home.
'Exactly. This was a completely different generation too. So, rather than risk the shame of telling everyone who the father really was, she implied instead she had been the mistress of one of the more powerful elders. Some people may have been suspicious, but I don't think anything was said at the time. So she just got bigger and bigger and waited to miscarry.'
'Nice.'
'Like I said, she knew she should not be able to carry a half-breed, but somehow it came to full term. Healthy enough, and nobody knew. She enjoyed having her child, but she made sure there were no others. That child was my grandmother.'
'And nobody knows about this?'
'You really are the first person I've ever told, so please don't make me regret it. Don't use it against me, the way that my mother always told me someone would if I told them.'
'Don't worry, I won't. So what happened next? You might as well tell me the rest of it, now that you've told me this much.'
'There isn't that much else to tell. My grandmother grew up, not realising that she was half human until she met my grandfather, and they were trying to have kids. My grandfather was low bloodline vamp, but he was all vampire nonetheless. After a couple of years of not being able to conceive, my great-grandmother came clean. Apparently my grandmother didn't say anything to my grandfather in case he left her, and after a while she became pregnant anyway with my mother. So the human in us was weakened a little bit more. Then my mother and father had me, so now I'm like, an eighth human or something. I'm stronger in sunlight than most vampires. I don't have to feed as often. I control the blood lust a bit more. There could be other things, but I haven't discovered them yet.'
'Holy shit. Do you think it could be one of the reasons why the elders are against you?' Suddenly things were making a lot more sense to Elizabeth. She had felt there was something different about Monica from the moment they met. This, she guessed, was a part of it.
'It has crossed my mind. They probably suspect something. I don't have a fully accountable bloodline, and that is something vampires take very seriously. You don't pass that kind of stigma down the line unless you have to. Unless the ambiguity is not as bad as the truth.'
'Jesus.'
'I know. It's not even that I'm ashamed. More afraid that if the truth got out, then they would have a reason for lynching me. It wouldn't be so bad if I could just resign or get booted out. But knowing the only way a new leader is chosen is when the previous one dies, well, that kind of limits my options. Yours too.'
'Mine?' Elizabeth saw that despite her candour, Moni
ca was sending her a warning.
'I can't promise that the next leader will have any interest at all in protecting you. Not like I do.'
31
When she returned to her hotel room, Elizabeth was fairly certain that no one had been in there. Surely someone had shown up looking for her. She wasn't that naïve. However, there was no point causing a scene breaking down a hotel room door for no good reason if she wasn't in there. Discretion was always paramount with these guys.
She had taken a cab back to the hotel, still feeling too weak to walk far. She had always been a quick healer, but that was only by human standards and she knew it would be days before she felt safe, even with painkillers.
Monica had given her another dose before she left and they were starting to kick in. She plugged in her phone and as soon as it came on began wading her way through the frantic voicemail messages. The last three were from David, trying to ask discretely whether Monica had killed her or not. She ordered room service, told them to bring it up, but to leave it outside her room rather than bring it in. Then, taking a painfully deep breath, she called David, assured him that she was fine, that they needed to discuss last night, and that he and Garth should both come round in a couple of hours.
She heard the room service arrive while she was in the shower, but didn't have the energy to rush herself. She had given her body a proper once over when she removed the strapping around her ribs. She looked like she had been hit by a truck. The heavy bruising on her face was nothing in comparison to the rest of her.
She would have to ask David to help her with the strapping when he arrived, and hope that he wouldn't feel too awkward about doing it. As soon as she'd taken it off, she realised what a good job Monica had done. There was no way she could put it back on herself effectively, and there was no way she would make it through the day without it. They would both just have to suck it up, because it was going to make the difference between her being able to get on with her life or just lying on the bed for days feeling like shit.
